The Mystery thickens -- Gou Rang with balls

kk
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Posts: 257

The Mystery thickens -- Gou Rang with balls Nov 13, 2019 4:05:38 GMT

Quote

Post by kk on Nov 13, 2019 4:05:38 GMT

Is Gou Rang really a "Hook and Poke" buckle with benefits ?

If so, why is that little sphere in the lower hook, in the center spike ?

On the left is a modern coat rack with the same sphere at the end of the hook.

So why is the Gau Gang have sphere at the end of the hook as well, certainly not to hang coat during combat !

Any what happen around 402 CE, after 600 years in used, Gou Rang all of a sudden disappear ?

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christain Member It's the steel on the inside that counts. Posts: 2,835	The Mystery thickens -- Gou Rang with balls Nov 13, 2019 5:06:04 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by christain on Nov 13, 2019 5:06:04 GMT I think the ball is there to actually trap a blade with a twist of the wrist...long enough to deliver a kill-shot with your weapon of choice.

Sir Thorfinn Global Moderator Global Moderator Posts: 4,266	The Mystery thickens -- Gou Rang with balls Nov 13, 2019 18:26:52 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Sir Thorfinn on Nov 13, 2019 18:26:52 GMT Perhaps its a training weapon too. Safety ballz...
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MOK
Member

Posts: 5,252

The Mystery thickens -- Gou Rang with balls Nov 15, 2019 6:59:23 GMT

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Post by MOK on Nov 15, 2019 6:59:23 GMT

On the other hand, pointy bits are just plain inconvenient all around. Remember, even the most actively used weapon of war spends 99.99% of its time being worn or carried around in non-combat situations!

It's not like you could seriously harm the opponent with these prongs, anyway, no matter how sharp they were, so having a nice round finial on one or both of them might just be to stop them from accidentally pricking everything and everyone around you. The top prong can at least threaten to poke the opponent in the eye, so there's maybe some use in making it sharp... or maybe the few pictured are simply missing the finial that was originally there, lost to the ravages of time.

The central spike is also probably just meant to aid in parrying and binding, like the semi-pointy bosses on many Saxon/Viking/etc. round shields, in which case a bulbous finial would help prevent the opponent's weapon from skipping over it. (I've also seen some 16th-17th Century bucklers with very similar central pegs instead of sharp spikes.)

Last Edit: Nov 15, 2019 7:07:37 GMT by MOK

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The Mystery thickens -- Gou Rang with balls

Post by kk on Nov 13, 2019 4:05:38 GMT

Post by christain on Nov 13, 2019 5:06:04 GMT

Post by Sir Thorfinn on Nov 13, 2019 18:26:52 GMT

Post by MOK on Nov 15, 2019 6:59:23 GMT

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